Mindfulness activities are simply ways to check in with how you’re feeling, take a moment for yourself and to reduce your stress levels. In this chapter, we explore some simple techniques you can use to bring yourself back to centre, wherever you might be.  

Let’s start with that phrase though, ‘Bring yourself back to centre’.  It’s a phrase you may well have heard before. It’s used frequently. But what does it actually mean? 

For me coming back to centre means feeling more connected to myself and less crazy in my brain! Frequently our lives and the sheer volume of things we expect of ourselves can leave us feeling scattered and overwhelmed. We now have so many different things vying for our attention every minute of the day!

Those things might be people, like your partner, children, friends, family members, colleagues or your boss. Or your work demands, your home demands, feeding everyone, your other commitments and even your own need to eat, exercise, meditate and sleep! There’s a lot going on there! And we haven’t even looked at how much time we spend being distracted by social media, the news, advertising and all the other forms of media that are butting into our days!

Essential or unessential, each of these things demand our attention and draw our focus in one direction, and then very quickly in another direction. Suddenly having a million things going on is the new norm and can even represent some kind of gold star! “Yes, look at how much I have going on. I am SOOOO busy!” This is not good for us.

Technology now shows us that the brain actually can’t multitask. It’s actually not possible. Yes, you read that right. There are no if, buts, or maybes about it. It just is not possible. What’s actually happening when we have a million things going on, is that our brains are switching from one task to the other and back again, very quickly. And that continuous switching uses up significant amounts of your energy.

Each of the different things you ask your brain to do will require a slightly different kind of focus or emotion or skill. Which means you’re switching back and forth. 

We live in times that are more demanding than ever before and because of that, our attention is more scattered than ever before. We spend so much of our time moving quickly in order to react, respond or resolve everything, to meet all of those demands. 

And to amplify all of this, we spend less time in nature, less time by ourselves or in the company of people who truly lift us up! When we look at it like this, it’s no wonder we feel more scattered mentally, physically and emotionally than ever before.

Mindfulness techniques are a way to counteract this. The aim is to briefly stop and focus the mind on one specific thing for just a few moments. Mindfulness activities are simple exercises that you can use any time, anywhere. They help to quiet down the excessive noise of everyday life. Give the exercises below a go, and see how you feel.

Mindfulness activities

Standing in a queue

You know the feeling, you’re running late (of course!) and you need to get some cash for xyz. You approach the atm only to see 5 other people queuing up! A silent scream of frustration rises up in your chest. So what do you do? You weigh up whether to dash to the next nearest atm rather than waiting here. Begrudgingly, you choose to stay but boy are you not happy about it! Come on queue! What the hell is that guy doing? Oh no, there’s a tiny old lady in front of you. She probably can’t even work the bloody machine!! 

Unfair, unnecessary, unhelpful….. Am I talking about the universe here or about you? Yep, it’s you. These thoughts aren’t fair, they aren’t necessary and they don’t help you in any way. You’re choosing to stay in the queue! It’s your choice! By your own evaluation, it’s the best option for you! If it isn’t, move on. If it is, accept that you’ve chosen it and quit your whining!

So, how about you accept the choice you’ve made to be in the queue and maybe even use the time to your advantage? Shock horror, maybe even enjoy your time in the queue!? I dare you to try this!

Instructions

Press your feet firmly into the ground and distribute your weight evenly. Lift your chest just slightly and feel the rest of your body lengthening as you stand tall. Take a long breath and actively listen to the breath as you breathe in and also as you breathe out. Keep feeling your feet engaged with the ground, keep feelinging the length of your whole body as youm stand tall and keep listening to your breath as you wait. And enjoy!

Taking 3 long breaths

Breathing is the single most underrated thing that we do! We do it continuously every day. More often than not, without a single thought given. The average adult takes between 17,000 and 23,000 breaths per day — or more depending on the person’s weight, cardiovascular fitness and proficiency in breathing. For example if you’ve done any kind of martial arts, yoga or meditation regularly, your breathing will tend to be longer because of that kind of training.  

Bringing some awareness to your breath for just a few moments can have a huge impact on your mindset.  It can interrupt the noise of your brain and provide some stillness.  Taking 3 long breaths can be done absolutely anywhere, give it a go and see the effects. 

Instructions

As simple as it sounds. Take a long breath in and a long breath out. Repeat this three times. Try to listen to and feel the sensation of your breath as it moves through your body. You might want to focus on one part of the body that’s physically involved in breathing, for example, try focusing on your ribcage as it expands with each breath in and contracts with each breath out. Another good focal point is your nostrils. Can you feel the breath as you take it in and as you breath pout. What sensations can you feel?

You can find a quiet place to do this but it’s just as easy to do just sitting at your desk, waiting to cross the road or in the car before you jump out to go to a meeting. 

Walking mindfully

Walking also is an activity we do frequently yet often very unmindfully!  Whether you specifically go for a long walk or are just dashing from the train station into an office, there is an opportunity to make your walk a mindfulness activity. In fact, shorter walks in this instance are better to start with.

As with many of these mindfulness activities, the difference between walking and walking mindfully is really just the presence of mind and choosing to actively be aware of what we’re doing. So to practice walking mindfully, start by being present with each step. Feel each movement. Feel the air around you as you move. See everything that’s in front of you and around you. 

I’ve heard some beautiful stories of people doing this and noticing things they’ve walked past every day for years and years and never seen. The trees on the path down to the beach. The beautiful buildings they pass as they approach the office.  What might you be missing that’s there every day? Isn’t it time to find out?

Instructions

As you walk pay attention to each step you take. Feel the transfer of weight from the back or middle of the feet, to the toes. Notice the air on your skin as you move forward. Feel how your clothes move ever so slightly. Intentionally open your eyes and look up as you walk. Actively see everything in your visual field.

Eating mindfully

Again, something we do every day and are often completely oblivious to. I’m actually doing this as I type! Mindlessly munching on some cherries, not even noticing as I pop them into my mouth between paragraphs. And that’s ok! I’m  not suggesting that you must pay specific attention to every morsel you that crossed your lips. However, how we nourish ourselves is certainly another opportunity to take a moment to be present. Food is such a sensory experience. Why miss that? 

I remember being told a story during a workplace training I was taking with a charity group. A young 20 something participant told me that on the weekend following our last class he had been having coffee with friends in a very hipster cafe in a very hipster neighbourhood. One of his friends mentioned that he was very interested in learning more about mindfulness and what it involved. Our last class had included a mindful eating exercise and so the young man explained the principles and suggested they give it a go with the coffee that had just arrived. Within moments the group of 4 was sitting quietly intently focusing on their drinks as he walked them through the process. They became aware of the colours, the smells, the temperature, the motion of picking up their cup, then the tastes and textures. 

I can perfectly imagine the bustling cafe on a Sunday morning full of people, young families, older locals, professional brunchers. And in the midst of it all a small table of 4 young men, entirely mesmerised by the sensory experience of that day’s coffee….. Wow! And I bet you no one else even noticed them!

Instructions

Tune into each part of the eating process. The temperature, the taste, the movements involved in eating, your hands,  your teeth and jaw. Consider the changes in texture, the smells, perhaps even the sounds of the food. Try this with things like coffee, cakes, jelly beans or fruits.

Peaceful gaze

I once taught the peaceful gaze exercise to a group of people who worked in a homeless shelter. We were standing in a very small courtyard. It was a warm, but grey cloud covered kind of day. We had a handful of small shrubs and some flowers to work with. 

I remember there was one particularly bright flowering shrub that a number of people chose to focus their gaze on. It soon became apparent that the shrub was full of bees very quietly collecting pollen and buzzing around. I remember smiling and loving the contradiction of how busy the bees were as we stood still observing. 

After the session had finished one of the participants told me that she was terrified of bees and as she focussed on the shrub she suddenly became aware of how many there actually were, she became anxious. Her first instinct was to turn on her heel and run in the opposite direction! She chose instead to focus on the flowers and the contrasting colours in front of her. She noticed just how busy the bees were. They were completely focused on their work and really had no interest in her or what she was doing.  The anxious feeling faded away and she was surprised by how peaceful she felt. She found that she enjoyed watching the flowers, the colours, and the bees going about their business! I’m not saying one peaceful gaze exercise will cure anxiety. I am saying find something peaceful to look at, and just go with it.

Instructions

Spend a few moments watching something peaceful. For you that might be the clouds, trees moving in the wind, leaves on the ground, flowers, the ocean, a city skyline or a dark starry night sky. Allow your eyes to soften and your breath to lengthen. Observe and enjoy the quiet feeling. If your mind wanders away don’t be concerned, that’s perfectly normal. Your job is to actively bring your mind and focus back to the visual you’ve chosen to focus on. Spend a few minutes here actively looking for the details of everything you can see. The different colours, the shapes, the parts moving, the parts that are still.

You might find that you take to these exercises really easily. While some of you might find some easier than others. It’s not a competition! These activities are an invitation to check in with yourself in a quiet and simply way. No expectations.

Stephanie is a corporate escapee who owns and runs 2 businesses: @herenowgroup – Which provides mindfulness/meditation programs and mentoring for everyday life, and @ivanhoecommunitygrocers, a local organic fruit and veg box delivery company.

For more resources you can visit www.herenowgroup.com or www.ivanhoecommunitygrocers.com.au